Keep the Balance
by gingerChick
Summary: I suck at summaries, but... What happens when the spotlight is turned from Haruhi to Kimiko Tanaka, an old friend of the host club? What happens when Tamaki gets Haruhi? (Okay, so we aren't focusing too much on that.) And what happens when Kimiko can't choose between the twins when they truly realize their love for her?
1. The Younger Twin, Kaoru

I walked into the third music room casually, and found that it was dark. I registered this, but the lights were quickly turned back on. My eyes took a while to adjust. Six voices sang out, "Happy birthday!" Three different names were called. Well, a name and two nicknames (not including the –chan name): Kimiko, Kimi, Miko, and also Kimi-chan.

My name is Kimiko Tanaka. I'm 15 years old, a first-year student at Ouran Academy. Class 1A. My birthday is October 8th, making me a Libra. Blood type AB. My closest friends are the host club, who I always hang out with and lend a hand to. The president, Tamaki Suoh, along with the older Hitaachin brother, Hikaru, call me Miko. Kyoya Ootori and Takashi Morinozuka (or Mori) call me by my name. Kaoru Hitaachin calls me Kimi. And Mitsukuni Haninozuki (Honey) calls me Kimi-chan.

But yeah, I'd met Tamaki and the twins around the same time. Kyoya and Mori I met later, and then Honey I'd known shortly before Tamaki. Tamaki cared for me as if I was a younger sister, having known the twins a good seven years they felt like really close friends or brothers, and Honey was like the younger brother I'd always wanted. (Although he's older than me.) Kyoya and Mori I didn't know well enough… Then there was Haruhi. We're okay friends, I guess.

Presently Honey was holding a big, scrumptious-looking cake. "I made a special cake for you, Kimi-chan! Takashi helped me with it."

"Why, thank you," I laughed.

So we ate the cake, the first bite going to me of course, and afterward a few games and whatnot. "Which one is Hikaru?" was obviously the first. They'd never fooled me. "Hikaru." I patted him on the head. "And Kaoru." Being fonder of Kaoru I kissed him on the cheek. No one knew (except for Honey, who teased me a bit, and most likely Kyoya, who knew everything), but I had really liked him for a while. Twins aren't totally the same, as we all know. He was the calmer one.

"Hey, how come he gets a kiss?" Hikaru good-naturedly complained. Kaoru stood there, somewhat astonished. I skipped off and flopped on the couch, stretching out with some English work I remembered I had to do.

Tamaki stood over me with a disapproving glance. "What are you doing class work for? It's your birthday, live a little!"

I smirked. "Just because you think you're above class work, doesn't mean I am." He frowned and pulled me up. I sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll live a little."

"Good. Because we have some clients here to wish you a very happy birthday."

"Huh?" Clients… That weren't female? They were usually always female. But these were in fact males. And rather attractive ones. They crowded me, asking me questions and trying to make moves… I fled to my room.

"Oh, senpai. When will you learn?"

"Learn? All he's ever learned to do is flirt and be obnoxious." I looked over. Kaoru leaned against the doorframe, then walked in to sit beside me. "So. I didn't know you felt that way about me." He seemed a bit timid about it.

I felt my face heat up. "Um, well…"

He grinned. "Honey told me."

Exhaling a breath, I admitted, "Okay, yeah, I really do like you… But you and Hikaru seem to be all caught up with Haruhi."

Shrugging he replied, "I'm just going to let Hikaru have a shot."

"Why?"

"He's my brother, and I care about him. He deserves her more than I do."

"That's not true! You deserve whoever you want."

"Doesn't matter. It was half just to annoy Tamaki, since we all know he's madly in love with her. Hikaru can try, but she'll probably end up with him in the end." He shook his head.

I ruffled his hair. "Well, I hope you aren't too hurt…"

"No, I'll be fine. I've got you, right?"

I smiled. "Yeah." And we kissed. It felt like it had been something delayed… But it felt right.


	2. The Older Twin, Hikaru

A couple days later I sat outside on a bench, reading. It was a nice day, and the host club was entertaining their clients as usual. After I had shown a hint of dislike for male clients (I wasn't quite socially graceful with the opposite gender like my friends were), they had resumed appealing to the ladies.

If I tried hard enough, I could perhaps pass as a guy. Not as well as Haruhi, but I could. With only slightly long hair, curling around my neck and resting on my shoulders, and none of the makeup and natural beauty all the other girls had, I wasn't too girly. It's not that I'm not pretty; I was gorgeous in other ways. I didn't need to flirt and bat my eyelashes to show my feminine side.

I looked up from my book to see Hikaru sitting on a bench on the other side of the fountain. _How long has he been there?_ Closing my book, I approached him. "Hey."

He glanced at me, and his face turned from one of upset to surprise. "Oh! Miko."

"Something wrong?"

"Nah."

I sat beside him. "Ah, but there is. You can't fool someone who's known you seven years."

Sighing he confessed, "Just a bit upset about Haruhi. Being with Tamaki and all…"

"How come everyone but me became instantly attached to her?" I wondered aloud. "Anyway. Maybe this will be good for him. Maybe he'll stop being such a romantic fool."

"Yeah, but still." He shook his head in a resigned fashion.

"It'll be alright. Trust me." I smiled.

"…You know, I don't think I ever totally loved her. Me and Kaoru were just trying to get to Tamaki. Then we both kinda fell for her… But…"

"But?"

"But I think… I think I love another girl more." His gaze dropped. It was distant, and somewhat worried.

I cocked my head to the side. "Who?"

"Uh…y-you." Somehow he seemed even more nervous than Kaoru. That made two things about them I hadn't really known: that they had these crushes on me I'd have never expected, and how they really seem to be. Either it was something to do with me, or the fact that they were apart.

I blinked. "Really? You've always seemed so casual around me, like I was just any other friend or whatever…"

"W-well, you didn't seem to like me as much as Kaoru, so I kind of just hid it."

"No, that isn't true. I love both of you! But you? Hiding your emotions?" I grinned, despite his heartfelt confessions.

He smiled too. "Yeah." He looked at me for a moment, then kissed me softly.

As an astronaut I had heard of once said… "Houston, we have a problem."


End file.
